http://www.accessonmainstreet.net Hooking up a usable world, one mainstream product at a time. Thu, 15 May 2008 18:01:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Welcome to Access on Main Street. We cover mainstream products that, by chance or design, make life easier for an elder or a person with a disability. We want to inform consumers, inspire designers, and wake up marketers to opportunities with these underserved customers. Please comment on our articles, ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2001/01/28/access-what-where/ We've been thinking a lot lately about designs that would help a couple of clients who have arthritis but are adamant about not giving up their long fingernails. So we're thrilled to see the TAD, which slips over any finger and provides a pointer that at least makes accessing cellphone ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/15/nailed-it/ In his latest book, The Design of Future Things, design lama Donald Norman posits the development of self-propelling luggage, then considers the implications: "The luggage, with its wheels, would behave like a handicapped object, so it would need to seek out curb cuts at street intersections and ramps and elevators to ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/15/robot-overlords-need-access-too/ Hate leaving your social networking sites when you have to meet people in the flesh? Now you can have both; aka-aki, a new service from Germany, lets you send and receive information about commonalities with other subscribers within the same brick-and-mortar space, and then use Bluetooth to actually find ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/14/hi-society/ Given that the Internet is the most powerful information tool ever devised, it's good that someone would come up with a website to let you easily find...a local bathroom. Locations can be added and identified by whether a purchase is required, whether there are baby changing capabilities--and whether they're wheelchair ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/13/thinking-a-head/ Since teens theoretically spend all day text messaging anyway, why not take advantage of the technology to remind them to take medications? A pilot program in Cincinnati has volunteers typing reminder messages at set times of the day--with all words spelled out so they won't be mistaken for BAU from ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/13/teen-talk/ Schmap, which has already established a web presence with interactive maps and guides, has developed an iPhone-savvy version of its site. What we really like is that it takes advantage of the iPhone's built-in gyro sensors; hold your phone one way to see just the local points of interest, then ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/13/a-whirled-of-the-map/ As we write this, the United Nations is celebrating ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which promotes all kinds of things dear to our hearts, including the need to "Work on and encourage new technologies in all aspects of life that are useful for people ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/12/un-remarkable/ Designer David Chacon has come up with a small remote for controlling devices all over the house. Besides the convenience for people with mobility disabilities, we particularly like the large, intuitive iconography--no reading capability required--and the potential for creating custom icons for specific products. Dvice: Universal remote concept reminds us of ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/12/control-version/ We have yet to quite see the point of Twitter, the online service that lets you keep the world posted on the most minute details of your day ("Retrieved bellybutton lint, 5:04 PM"). But at least now there's TwitterFone, a hands- and cost-free option for creating Twitter posts via speech ... http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/2008/05/08/twittering-away/